When you use our rate comparison process, providers know that they are competing to win your business. Consequently, they offer cheap electric rates in hopes of becoming your new Texas electricity company. This benefits both you and the provider you select. You receive a cheap electric rate and the plan of your choice, and the provider adds another satisfied customer.
Energy Ogre: Grab a recent electric bill and head to www.energyogre.com. Enter some basic information from your bill and within minutes, Energy Ogre lets you know if it can save you money. If it can, you pay the company for one year, either $10 a month or $120 up front. Once you sign up, the company keeps looking at energy plans to make sure you're always getting the lowest rate possible. When you sign up with Energy Ogre, your electric bill and the $10 monthly fee is set on auto-pay so you don't have to worry about remembering to pay each month. More info
*Only new customer successful enrollments with Constellation. Cards are issued by Virtual Rewards Center. Valid email address required for receipt of Gift card. Gift cards will not have cash access. For any questions about your Gift card, call our customer care team at 1-877-997-9995. The listed merchants are in no way affiliated with Constellation nor are the listed merchants to be considered sponsors or co-sponsors of this program. Use of merchant names and/or logos is by the permission of each respective merchant and all trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Terms and conditions are applied to gift cards/certificates. Please see the merchant gift card/gift certificate for additional terms and conditions, which are subject to change at merchant's sole discretion. Constellation will share your name and email address with Virtual Reward Center for reward fulfillment only. Reward link expires in 3 months.
There are approximately 5,000 businesses associated with the energy industry in Houston, which is why the city is known as the world's "Energy Capital." Houston is home to more than 2 million people and is one of the most populated areas in the United States. City homeowners, renters and business owners get to choose between energy companies in Houston to supply their electricity. In Houston, one electricity supply rate won't fit the needs of all energy users. Therefore, it's important for consumers to use electric choice to shop for the best plan for them.
Prices on longer term plans of a year or more have also risen significantly. Retail electricity providers are reluctant to discuss their prices — especially rising ones — but the Association of Electric Companies of Texas, a trade group, estimated that the rate on a one-year fixed price offer on the Power to Choose website has climbed more than 20 percent over the past year to an average of 11.1 cents per kilowatt hour.
“The whole business model of the industry is to get people in on the promotional rates and then jack up their rate when the promotional rates end,” said Trent Crow, a former JP Morgan energy trader and founder of Real Simple Energy, a website that helps consumers find low-cost electricity plans. “I don’t think people realize how much they are overpaying.”

One way NRG has expanded its customer base — it has about 30 percent of the retail electricity market in Texas compared to about 20 percent a decade ago —is by putting employees into retail settings such as grocery stores and discount stores to meet with consumers about the company’s electricity plan offerings. The face-to-face interactions have helped the company explain the range of current offerings, said Killinger. NRG also emphasizes the importance of buying power from a company with enough financial heft that it will be around in the future.

But competition didn't necessarily end up cutting prices, according to the report. One contributing factor is confusion among customers as they try to choose among scores of retail electricity providers and the overwhelming variation of plans, leading many to just stick with familiar companies rather than look for better deals, according to the Texas Coalition for Affordable Power .
Texas deregulated most of the state's electricity markets in 2002, a move aimed at lowering electricity costs by letting consumers choose their own electric power providers and their own plans. Some parts of Texas continued to be regulated, including those whose power is proved by municipally-owned utilities, electric cooperatives and investor-owned utilities that operate outside the state's primary power grid.
†Offer is available to Texas residential customers who enroll using the Promotion Code “NIGHTSFREE”. Plan bills a monthly Base Charge, an Energy Charge, and passes through Utility Transmission and Distribution delivery charges. Energy Charges for usage consumed between 9pm and 7am each day is credited back on your bill. The utility charges, including delivery charges for night time hours, are passed through at cost and aggregated on your bill. See Electricity Facts Label for details.
Ultimately, analysts said, this means that the vast majority of customers are not reaping the benefits of electricity deregulation, which promised that more competition would mean healthy savings. One analyst estimates that consumers are leaving about $2 billion a year on the table, which is likely flowing to the bottom lines of retail electricity companies.
No matter who you are, residents and business owners in Texas have to have electricity. Understanding electricity rates in Houston can be overwhelming at first. At SaveOnEnergy.com®, our job is to help you explore your Houston energy options. The more you learn about electric companies in your area, the easier your decision will be when you choose an energy plan.
Ready to shop? Below you’ll find available electricity rates in Houston. Search for plans by rate, term length or brand. If you have an apartment with a short lease, a supply plan with a shorter length might be the best for you. However, if you own a home and don’t plan on moving for a while, you can look for long-term plans. You have the power to choose!

Although there is electricity running to the house, the account is not in the home owner’s name – it’s in the builder’s name since, technically, the builder owns the property until you’ve paid him in full. Another thing a lot of first-time home owners don’t realize is that Houston electricity retailers often give preferred rates to corporate clients like housing contractors. Like many other producers, Retail Electric Providers like bulk purchases and you can’t get much more bulk purchasing than trucks full of power tools, spot heaters, loud radios, directional lighting, hand tools, battery chargers, and so on! This means you can’t even gauge how much your electric bill will be based on prior bills because the usage pattern is not typical and, on top of that, you’re probably not going to get the same rate as your builder did.

ElectricityPlans makes shopping for electricity plans simple and intuitive. We give you the search tools you need to narrow your electricity plan search to specific contract lengths. In addition, you can use advanced search to narrow the search for the perfect electricity plan even further by searching for 100% renewable, prepaid plans, or electricity + extra stuff, for example. We also show each plan’s popularity over the past 30 days so you know what other electricity shoppers have selected.
Where should you shop for electricity? Houstonians have the power to choose from an overwhelming variety of energy suppliers, plans, and options. If you live in the Houston metro area and your local electric utility is CenterPoint, over 50 different retail electricity providers currently offer electricity plans in your area. Each of these electricity providers offer sites, tools, and information on how to switch plans and providers. However, their information is often filled with electricity rates that are difficult to compare because of things like introductory rates, bill credits, narrow usage levels, unexpected fees, and legalese buried in the EFLs. Fortunately, Houston homes and businesses have electricity shopping options that make the process much simpler.
†Offer is available to Texas residential customers who enroll using the Promotion Code “NIGHTSFREE”. Plan bills a monthly Base Charge, an Energy Charge, and passes through Utility Transmission and Distribution delivery charges. Energy Charges for usage consumed between 9pm and 7am each day is credited back on your bill. The utility charges, including delivery charges for night time hours, are passed through at cost and aggregated on your bill. See Electricity Facts Label for details.
In Texas' deregulated energy market, customers must pick their own electricity provider, all of which offer different rates per hour of power usage. You can shop for other power plans on the state-run website, www.powertochoose.org, or try an alternative website, like www.texaspowerguide.com to help find the cheapest plan. Keep in mind that many retail electricity contracts carry penalties for early termination.

Texas deregulated most of the state's electricity markets in 2002, a move aimed at lowering electricity costs by letting consumers choose their own electric power providers and their own plans. Some parts of Texas continued to be regulated, including those whose power is proved by municipally-owned utilities, electric cooperatives and investor-owned utilities that operate outside the state's primary power grid.

CenterPoint Energy, a company that offers natural gas in six states and electricity to all of Houston, services the city and greater area. There are various choices for energy providers in Houston, and Choose Energy has partnered with some of the best. Customers have selections among trusted providers such as Reliant Energy, Direct Energy and TriEagle Energy.